Page 40 - Between light and shade

between light and shade, TRANSPARENCy and reflection

surfaces with an orientation that is not ideal are
becoming economically profitable.

Therefore, a building that produces energy,
thanks to its envelope, at an affordable cost is
within reach, as long as its supporting structure
does not excessively affect the cost, and this is far
from being a question of detail, and the power
grid actually becomes “smart” and accessible to
everyone.

What we need is to develop an architecture
that incorporates these cells in a “friendly” way.
Photovoltaics are not a panacea and it is essen-
tial to evaluate the most appropriate source of
renewable energy, based on the particular site.

In 1998, the use of photovoltaic cells on the
facade of Hendrik Seghers’ castle, which I will
cover below, or for Houten Fire Station [01/373,
Fig. 10 and 11], was of an experimental, or almost
symbolic, nature. The same was not true in 2006.

This was the point at which the Council of
the European Union became convinced of the
relevance of covering its new headquarters,
the EUROPA building, with a photovoltaic
“sunshade” [01/494, GM, Fig. 12] and that the
envelope of the Euro Space Centre at Libin-Tran-
sinne (facades and roof) [01/518, Fig. 13] was desi-
gned as a genuine power plant with an installed
capacity of 439 kWp (and annual production on
the order of 370 MWh, i.e. 91% of the centre’s

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